by Freeda Cathcart
Rocky Mount and Martinsville – Hundreds of protesters turned out for No Kings 3 on Saturday March 28 to express their frustration about the current direction of the country and hope for better days. The protests were festive and joyous.
Both protests had many “Vote YES” on redistricting signs. Both protests encouraged attendees to bring items to help their community. Rocky Mount collected personal hygiene items and Martinsville had a food drive for local charities.
Over 200 hundred people lined both sides of the street in front of The Depot Welcome Center in Rocky Mount. People were smiling and cars driving by honked their horns in support.
There was an occasional gesture against them, but people who had been to previous protests said that there was more support than before and less negativity.
A sound system played many protest songs including Bruce Springsteen’s new song The Streets of Minneapolis:
“…Against smoke and rubber bullets
In the dawn’s early light
Citizens stood for justice
Their voices ringin’ through the night
And there were bloody footprints
Where mercy should have stood
And two dead, left to die on snow-filled streets
Alex Pretti and Renee Good…”
A first time protester shared how joyful and safe she felt at the protest. She held a sign that said “NO HEALTHCARE FOR PEASANTS BUT A BALLROOM FOR THE KING.”
When she was asked what motivated her to go to the protest, she responded that she thought the energy in the country shifted after the murders of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. It inspired her how the people in Minneapolis stood up to the brutal ICE agents in the bitter cold. She also shared that her son’s birthday was that day and she wanted to stand up for him and for everyone in our country.
Martinsville also had over 200 people who gathered in all four corners of a busy intersection. They held signs and chanted as cars drove by. “Show me what democracy looks like. THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE!” An inflatable Tyrannosaurus Rex held a sign saying “Make Fascism Extinct.” Attendees also noticed more support than negativity. There was a lot of traffic as people arrived in town to watch the next day’s NASCAR race.
This part of Southside Virginia is deep red MAGA country with plenty of Vote NO on redistricting signs along the roadsides. There are two Trump Stores, one in Boones Mill and one in Danville. The one in Boones Mill has over 550 different items from China, including many pairs of the Trump gold sneakers and they had Vote NO signs for sale. They sell a couple sneakers a month. The store’s worker said that he hadn’t noticed a reduction in customers or sales.
Three customers stopped by. A couple from Harrisonburg who said they stop by twice a year on the way to the NASCAR race and a man from Roanoke who said he comes down occasionally to shop.
A large screen TV was broadcasting Fox News that had a large banner saying “Protesters Clash in Dallas, Texas.” A handful of counter protesters led by Stuart Rhodes, the founder of Oath Keepers, and Enrique Tarrio, leader of the Proud Boys, had blocked the front of a large No Kings march with thousands of people. Both Rhodes and Tarrio had been convicted for their involvement in the January 6, 2021 insurrection attempt to overturn the 2020 election. Donald Trump pardoned both of them after he started his second term.
There was a flag that said Trump 2028. When asked which Trump the flag was referring to: Donald Jr. or Ivanka, the shop attendee said it was just a joke to anger the people who didn’t like Trump.
The current state of our country isn’t a joke. The People are feeling the pain from the tariffs, inflation, and high gas prices caused by a war of choice and the despair from seeing our brave soldiers returning home in flag draped coffins. Across the country there were more protests in red areas that had never hosted a No Kings protest before and huge turnouts in red states like North Carolina and Louisiana.
Over 8 million attended the historic No Kings 3 protests breaking the record for the largest protest in America. The People are rising…
